The Registration & Student Counselling Department at the Ministry of Education is organizing an academic counselling program for high school students during the period of 15th January until 16th February to familiarize students with standards of acceptance, method of registration at government higher education institutions, the programs and opportunities available to them, in addition to having them review the general and advanced course links for study programs. This will be in participation with representatives from higher education institutions, such as UAE University, Higher Colleges of Technology, Zayed University, institutes and colleges under the Abu Dhabi Vocational Education & Training Institute, in addition to Khalifa University and Mohammed V University.
Yumna Badwa, Director of Student Registration & Counselling Department, confirmed that the program that includes all schools in the State works on raising students’ awareness on the registration and acceptance process for overseas scholarships offered by the Ministry of Education. Additionally, the program will familiarize them with the most prominent private universities in the State and the recognized study programs, noting that the program includes the conditions of acceptance, instructions on how to complete the electronic admission applications, and conduct the national examinations “EmSAT”.
Badwa explained that the academic program is characterized by its comprehensiveness, since the administrators of the program, which is updated on an annual basis, ensure inclusion of all information required by students. She added that a series of workshops for academic counsellors and school coordinators are provided to familiarize them with updates on acceptance and registration.
She noted that the workshops contribute to building bridges of communication with specialists in educational areas and the exchange of ideas, information and experiences, in order to create early awareness about the opportunities of higher education in the State and provide the best services to students.
In conjunction with this, the Academic & Professional Counselling Department launched the Student Counselling Month under the logo “My Future” for all stages of study. This includes guided tours to measure professional tendencies and provide advice to students on selecting the university disciplines that suit their preferences, making it easier for them to identify the services available around them and the different professional environments, and also to acquire skills and develop plans that suit the needs of the future labour market.
Amal Al Jasmi, Director of the Academic & Professional Counselling Department at the Ministry of Education, said that the Counselling Month aims at guiding students by foreseeing difficulties that they may encounter during their academic and professional life and to prepare for them in advance, in addition to offering them the means to acquire 21st century skills such as objective thinking, research, critical thinking and the ability to bear responsibility, in addition to helping students learn more about themselves, their academic and professional tendencies, and to form an objective picture of the same to enable them to choose the appropriate course of study.
Al Jasmi added that the importance of the Counselling Month is represented through the collaboration of different government institutions, universities and advanced industrial institutions in search of new competencies, where they all work to present students with job and professional opportunities required by these institutions. This is in line with the Ministry’s strategic objectives of attracting and qualifying students to join institutions of higher education inside and outside the country commensurate with the needs of the labour market, in conformity with the aspirations and ambitions of UAE’s wise leadership in its youth.
20/01/2017